Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Connected Math

Does anyone here have any experience with the Connected Math curriculum? Any opinions on it?

DD10 just finished 4th grade and has been doing Everyday Math in her lower elementary. She took a placement test for math in 5th grade, and that score, combined with her NWEA score and her MEAP score for Math qualified her to take the 7th grade math class next year, however, they switch from Everyday Math to this Connected Math curriculum in grade 6. Since she has never been exposed to this curriculum, I am curious if it will be a seamless transition or a huge change for her. So if anyone has any experience or opinions to share, I am interested.

Thanks!

I do not, but I just looked it up, and it appears to be a language- and discovery-heavy constructivist curriculum like Everday Math. If your child was successful in EM, then she will probably do fine in CM. It has the same spiral structure, so she'll probably have additional exposures to anything skipped in intervening grades. It seems that EM and CM are often paired, because of their similar philosophy.

It's the middle school version of Investigations, if you're familiar with that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investigations_in_Numbers,_Data,_and_Space

These programs all look horrendous. They need to be got out of classrooms ASAP, never to return.

But why are some of these so-called Mathematicians insist on torturing everyone with these?

One correction: while its equally constructivist i.e. the emphasis is on student direct problem solving as the primary means to learning math, CMP does not spiral in the same way Every Day Math does.

You might want to look at:

http://connectedmath.msu.edu/the-math/math-by-unit/ for a description of what is covered in 6th grade.

CMP has reputation for not really building on prior units as it moves forward so your risk is more about leaving holes in your daughters knowledge rather than having a bad transition.

DD11 just took the Terra Nova for 5th grade. As a homeschooler, state law requires that she take a standardized test the same years as the public school kids.

She described several of the math problems on the test that gave her grief. Her friend (also PG and two years older) and I agreed that this was that "fake math" that kept showing up when DD was in public school. Used to drive us crazy (DH and I because she'd bring home worksheets and we could never make hide nor hair out of them).

It was Everyday Math and something called Bridges... and they were just horrible. Seriously, of all the subjects to mess up.

Thank you and yes, that is another concern of mine (the holes). I spoke to her principal today and she assured me that the instructors who are teaching the 5th graders this 7th grade curriculum understand that they are missing some basic foundational instruction and will take the time to teach them and help fill the gaps as they go. If not, I will probably be doing partial home schooling to help, which sadly I have just grown used too. Regardless, I have to view this as a great opportunity for DD because her lower elementary offered no differentiation or gifted classes and she has been bored out of her mind in math for the past 5 years. Plus, the other upside to this is that they differentiate the actual classroom based on the math class that the students are assigned to, so that means she should be in a classroom with other advanced kids, which will be nice to have a classroom of like minded peers.

Thank you everyone for your input and information. I hope this works out well for us in the fall. Sadly, we are stuck with the curriculum mandated by the state, however, our school district is very well funded and high achieving and they take the time to supplement "real" math to the curriculum to ensure that the kids learn what they need to know to be successful later on in their education.